A pumpkin weighing 905 kilos, presented by José Rui Almeida Santos, a producer from Paderne in the Algarve, won the eighth edition of the "O Maior da Minha Aldeia" giant vegetable contest, held in Aguiar de Sousa, Paredes. The specimen constituted the largest ever in the contest's history, guaranteeing the producer a prize of one thousand euros, in addition to the diploma and the international diploma. The prize-giving ceremony took place on Sunday at the Parque Natural da Senhora do Salto, as part of the "Aldeia em Festa" program, with the presence of councilor Beatriz Meireles and the president of the Parish Council of Aguiar de Sousa, Fernando Santos.
The contest, promoted by the Municipality of Paredes in partnership with the Parish Council of Aguiar de Sousa and homologated by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, featured 27 participants, 19 of whom were producers from the municipality of Paredes. In the Giant Pumpkin category, second place went to António Manuel Lemos Almeida, from Real, with 861 kilos, and third place to Virgílio Afonso de Oliveira Ribeiro, also from Real, with 729.5 kilos.
José Rui Almeida Santos also stood out in the Melon category, winning with a specimen of 7.95 kilos. In the Tomato category, first place went to Fernando Martins Dias, from Paredes, with 1.333 kilos, while the largest Watermelon, weighing 71.5 kilos, was presented by Cláudia Fernandes, from Albufeira. In the municipal category, João Pedro dos Santos Cardoso, from Duas Igrejas, came in first place with a pumpkin weighing 391.5 kilos. The contest also distinguished the Most Beautiful Pumpkin, an award given to Fernando Santos, from Aguiar de Sousa.
